I am generally really strong against most enemies in Diablo III, but the flying insects in Caldeum that shoot those green poisonous things kill me really fast. What can I do to mitigate the damage I take?

I'm playing on Normal difficulty with a Monk. I've seen high damage from these poison things from levels 13-17.

3 Answers
3

I had the same problem when I first faced these critters on my Monk. They are the first enemy that caused me to change my skill loadout.

There are Resist Poison items (easily searchable on the AH) that would help you against the insects in particular, and more armor always helps, but I found the right combination of tactics was all I needed to bring them down.

My best advice is to keep moving. The attack moves pretty slow and if you see it coming, it's not too hard to dodge. But as you said, all too often you are distracted by other foes. So here are a few tips and tricks to deal with those pesky flies as a monk.

Dashing Strike is by far your best ability to deal with the flies. Don't be afraid to use this on the target with a line of projectiles coming straight at you. The dash will go straight through them and you won't take any damage.

Cyclone Strike followed by a good AoE attack is usually enough to take them out. Don't use a knockback as a followup or you'll just have to start dodging and chasing again. I choose Breath of Heaven with the Circle of Scorn rune.

Fleet Footed will help you dodge the attacks and catch up to the flies when they move away from you.

This probably goes without saying, but if you are playing multiplayer with a ranged partner, have them focus on the flies while you take out the other opponents.

This type of slow-moving ranged attack is meant to penalize you if you don't avoid it. The damage they do can be mitigated just like any other damage you'll receive through armor and resistances, but the best way to mitigate this damage is to move out of the projectile's path.

Another idea could be to try to get your dodge higher. (DEX + Gear)
At normal difficulty, this might not be entirely worthwhile over other methods such as stacking a bit more Vitality to have more survivability overall.
At higher difficulties, Dodge can be a great alternative to resorting to 1H+Shield.

I play a monk as my main so far without stacking resists (which I really must start doing) at lvl 60 inferno.

Like I said, stacking particular resist, or solely focusing on the dodge stat may only give you minor returns at lower levels so it is best to stack DEX as high as possible with VIT as a secondary on EVERY piece of gear, even at the expense of Magic/Gold find (which can sometimes suck, but I'd rather spend 30 minutes alive farming for loot vs. dead 25 minutes and up 5 minutes with great magic find!!)

Good Luck!

*EDIT

Also, depending on what skills you use, you may be poorly optimized to survive, instead focusing on DPS alone.
If you are confident, use Elective Mode to truly unlock the full potential of your monk and have multiple defensive skills on your bar (or when you are ready/able, offensive!!)